Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “streetwise” come from?

streetwise (English) comes from English street, from Middle English strete, from Old English strǣt, from Proto-West Germanic strātu, from Latin strāta, from Latin strātus, from Latin sternō, from Proto-Italic stornō — sterile, infertile.

streetwise (English): Having the necessary knack, personality and...

Definitions

  1. Having the necessary knack, personality and...

Ancestry of “streetwise”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstreetA paved part of road, usually in a village or a...
2Middle EnglishstreteA road or path connecting two settlements or...
3Old Englishstrǣtroad; a road, a town-road, a street, a paved...
4Proto-West Germanicstrātustreet, paved road
5Latinstrāta—
6Latinstrātus—
7Latinsternō—
8Proto-Italicstornō—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanstr̥-n-h₃-—
10Proto-Indo-Europeansterh₃-to spread, extend, stretch out
11Proto-Indo-Europeanster-sterile, infertile

Words derived from “streetwise”

  • streetwiseness
  • unstreetwise
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ster- →